Human Between Monsters
by HopingAndDreaming
Summary: Years before Frisk fell into the underground, a hopeless mother left a baby to the care of the monsters. Rescued by Toriel, and later adopted by Papyrus, she'd go through ups and downs before coming to the realization that her fate was to save the crazy world she grew up in. Who knew one small child could change everything?
1. Prologue

**First Undertale story, yay?! I've read so many stories about this wonderful game, and I finally decided to just jump into the bandwagon and start the ride! I had this idea for quite a long time, so I finally decided to pull it off. I was wondering how I would make it work, but I found out a good way to keep it going and I'm ready to show my work!**

 **Please note that this is one of the very first stories I ever write (in fact, it's my first full story, as I only wrote a** **few one/two shots that I didn't upload** **to FanFiction before this), so don't judge it too** **hard. English is not my first language either, so please, if you find any sort of error, don't be afraid to tell me! I still try my best, though.**

 **To avoid confusion as you read through, this story takes place a long time before Frisk falls into the underground. Thus, the monsters are just a tiny bit younger, and so they have different personalities, though they won't vary a lot, and only some of them sport minor changes in their appearance - you'll see who as the story progresses.**

 **Now that this is said, on with the story!**

* * *

 **-Prologue-**

Everything was dark. From the distance, the many twinkling lights of the city could be seen, dancing like fireflies in a pond. Bathed by the light of the high up moon, freely ruling the sky with no clouds to hide its beauty, Mount Ebott stood tall and mighty among the darkness surrounding its every tree and bush and rock.

Everything was dead silent, save for a tuneful cricket concert and the shrill cry of a bat swarm fluttering around the mountain. Peace could be seen in the air, handing out happiness and a charming calm all over the place, and not letting any disturbance come by and startle the critters of the night.

The sound of hurrying footsteps, however, was the only thing that disrupted the night scenery.

Night bugs and little animals got out of the way as a black shadow ran through the path without stopping. Light, frantic, nonstop, the footsteps of a running woman didn't go past unheard. The rattle of a rope ladder folded between her arms sounded like a strange melody, and the white sheets peeking out of the basket she held danced in delight with it, accompanied by the soft, cold breeze that helped it wave around like a playful ghost.

The human held the bundle protectively against her chest and her two skinny arms surrounded it like it was the most beautiful, valuable treasure the world had ever seen. Crystalline tears of pure fear and remorse ran down her pale cheeks as she climbed up the narrow path leading to a cave in the mountain, not slowing down even despite the steepness of the trail.

The sound of leaves, pebbles, and branches crunching under her hurrying feet was replaced by the sharp clicks of shoe against rock as she entered a cave with little to no light to greet her, and everything was as dark as the deepest parts of a peaceful sea, forcing her to stop as a measure of protection; tripping with a treacherous rock in the way would be her worst mistake at that point.

Sharp breaths escaped her lips as she came to a halt at the edge of a hole, a large hole that seemed full of darkness, nothingness, despair; but that was her final destination. The heavy pants were shaky as she left the basket next to her, with the same care a sculptor crafts a delicate ice statue, and tied the knot of the rope ladder to a protruding rock near the mossy wall of the cave.

Without much effort she let the ladder fall down until the ropes vibrated as it reached down, and she seemed to want to cry harder after a whimpering sigh. It was time. Her eyes were filled with water and her nose painted red when she looked back at the now unmoving blankets. Even after all the running the baby was still asleep, and was as peaceful as the moon itself.

She grabbed it careful not to wake her precious girl, and as gently as possible, went down the ladder. She hesitated for a second as the ladder moved more violently than she thought it would have, but she knew she had to come down. She could barely see where the ground below was, she could barely even see the steps, but she had to go down.

It was that, or the baby would die.

Holding the rope with one hand and the basket as tightly but as carefully as she could, she tried to maintain balance and stepped down slowly. The rope ladder kept swinging forward and backward, shaking, but the girl wouldn't stop. She was halfway there, she wanted her baby to live.

She pulled her foot up when she sensed something that wasn't a step in surprise, but relaxed almost immediately, and knew she was there. Knew it was time.

For a few seconds, she held the basket with both arms and looked at the bundle of sheets inside of it as she came down. The little girl was still sleeping. Tear drops could be clearly seen in the white blankets as the mother cried, her lip quivered, her eyes became waterfalls.

She gave it a motherly look. Behind the curtain of tears that clouded her vision, there was a blue gaze that, deep down, knew it was the correct thing to do. After her husband's unexpected death, she was left with nothing but her child and an aching void in her heart that would never heal. She had no money to sustain her baby and would lose her house soon.

Nobody could take care of the child.

The woman was sure even the monsters that inhabited the underground were capable of being more humane than anyone in that old, rusted town at the edge of oblivion, a town that nobody remembered.

And besides, no one down there would have a SOUL dark enough to kill a defenseless baby. Would they?

She settled the basket down, and could feel her arms trembling, almost hearing them begging her not to let go, but she could do nothing else aside from screaming internally. She had to leave. She had to turn around, never look back, and never return to the abyss. She wouldn't see her baby again, she could not look at her again, or remorse would take over her and lead them both to their doom.

With an echoing whine that could make the most evil and murderous of spirits give pitiful cries, she climbed up the rope ladder as fast as she could, no matter how violently it swung.

Then there was nothing.

No sound. A mother's cries faded with the ladder as it was pulled up back to the surface, never to return. Down there, the melodic night orchestra of crickets and bats went unheard by monsters, always. In the underground, those sounds did not exist; would not exist.

He watched the basket intently, just as if it were an alien object.

Flowey had merely seen the last bits of the ladder's silhouette being pulled up to the unreachable surface, but his attention was driven towards the basket only. Silence engulfed everything as the sentient flower popped up next to it. He wondered why anyone would have risked their life coming down there only to leave a bundle of blankets. What was the point? Flowey couldn't understand.

He flinched ever so slightly when the blankets moved.

They moved like something delicate was trying to pull them aside with little to not strength at all. Flowey tilted his head at the eerie movement, and it was then when he came to a delightful realization. Only a human could've gone down there, and thus, that meant it had to be a baby. An easy kill to keep him entertained.

More curious than anything, he used a vine to gently pull off the two or three white sheets that covered his next victim, and was met with a weak, blinking gaze. Teal orbs opened to look at the flower tiredly, and the little creature yawned silently. Bits of short, auburn hair covered the rosy cheeks on the pale face, and the baby merely shook her head in a failed attempt to remove them from her sight.

It almost seemed a pity to kill her. Flowey would've liked something more entertaining, that child probably didn't even know what a flower was, and had absolutely zero skills in FIGHTing. Babies' SOULs, human or monster, were the weakest of them all, but it was something. After all, how long would it take him to see another human and have the pleasure of being the first to kill them?

However, Flowey didn't even have time to summon a single bullet that would be more than enough to end the baby's life before a shrill cry pierced his hearing and made him shrink back in shock; he hadn't been expecting he child to start crying like crazy, even when he hadn't done anything yet.

And that wasn't even the worst part. Footsteps could be heard coming towards his direction, and Flowey felt a sudden urge to want to destroy everything around him. He had the baby right there, and he had lost his chance to kill her.

But he wouldn't let her go that easily.

Before any eyes could see him, he quickly disappeared underground before Toriel could make it there.

A muffled gasp escaped her as she covered her mouth; a broken heart could be seen in her crimson eyes as she approached the whining creature. She didn't doubt a second before carefully picking up the little girl, and her cries seemed to stop for a moment.

"Who could have abandoned you here…?" the goat monster asked the empty space around her, seeing nobody around. She couldn't understand why someone would leave a defenseless baby in a world where anything could kill her; she knew that, before abandoning a child so young, she would rather die.

Her pained look, pained at seeing such cruelty, was replaced by a motherly one as she and the baby locked teal and red eyes. In those pearls she saw faith, she saw a good SOUL. It almost reminded her of her own son.

A small smile pulled at her lips. "Do not worry, little one. I will keep you safe."

She nuzzled the little girl's nose, enough to make her cries drown and let a tiny laughter come out instead. She looked up; there was nothing but the distant night sky, nobody that was watching over the poor creature. She walked over to the basket, placing the baby onto the warm blankets and wrapping her up with them. Toriel took the basket with her, for she had no cradle or anything else that could serve as a bed for the toddler, and moved on.

Moved on under an 'innocent' gaze.

Flowey watched her as she disappeared from sight. It wouldn't be the first time she had ruined his chances to kill, but he knew she wasn't going to get away with it. All in all, it was a human. Humans never last in the underground. That baby would get killed, be it by him, by the Royal Guard, by the King, by any other monster.

No matter if he was her murderer, or it was someone else, he would be there to watch that tiny little SOUL shatter. She wasn't meant to last.


	2. The Door

**Wow, really? I realized I had gotten 4 favorites and follows in little more than a day after posting when I checked the story. I felt so special and happy, I swear. :') Do you guys really like it this much? I wasn't expecting to even get** _ **one**_ **favorite in a day, and now I just keep getting more. Any fave, follow and review fill me with determination. You guys make me want to write further!**

 **Oh, if you're wondering, this chapter was supposed to come out way earlier, and I mean WAY earlier, perhaps a day or two after the story was posted. But well, life got in my way as always, so sorry about the delay. To repay you for the wait, I decided to make this chapter longer than I had previously expected it to be.**

 **Anyways, you waited long enough. On with the story!**

 **(before you ask, yes, I did change the title and summary. Wasn't content with them)**

* * *

 **-The Door-**

* * *

She had been given curious looks by the monsters that inhabited the ruins as she calmly made her way towards her home. Not all of the critters down there had seen a human at all, and those who somehow did, either guided or misguided by the spread rumors around the underworld by those who survived the chaotic war above - which meant most of those rumors were most likely told by old man Gerson, and probably had been given a few lies here and there by the listeners who retold the tale - never saw a _baby_ human. Toriel had been asked the same question many times, by many voices: _what is that?_

The answer she had given with a small hint of fear, much to her delight, hadn't bothered anyone at all, as she had previously thought it would have. It was not like a human came into the occult world the monsters lived in every day, but even though they only needed just one more human SOUL to break free once and for all, the monsters in the ruins showed no care about that, and most of them even wanted to greet the little girl with love, all except for the cowardly Whimsun and a grumpy Migosp. No one had acted aggressively, though, which thankfully meant Toriel wouldn't need to feel worried about having a monster willing to kill her new youth so nearby.

But that relieving peace was only present in the ruins; it didn't dare to cross the door that led outside. Out there, peace was replaced by dangers, lurking everywhere. Just one monster with a burning desire to see the sun rise powerfully above the horizon could be waiting behind any rock or tree, dreaming with seeing such a beautiful light rise up just for them, even if they had to carry the heavy burden of murder over their shoulders afterwards. It did sound barbaric, but for innocent creatures that had been unfairly imprisoned by much powerful beings, it was a must-do action. Humans did not feel remorse when they condemned an _entire_ race to isolation. Why should the monsters feel pity for those who acted like rulers of the world? It was what they all thought, all except for Toriel and perhaps some innocent creature that would never even think of doing such thing.

Greeted by the warmth of the crackling blaze on the hearth and the smell of a recently baked pie, she left the basket on the table with care as heartwarming giggles came from the baby. She felt her heart give a wide smile as her scarlet eyes looked down on those teal pearls. She hadn't seen such a hopeful twinkle in a long time; she could almost see a happy SOUL full of hopes and dreams reflected through those tiny eyes. They looked like two stars in the middle of an empty night sky.

Judging by the fact that the child couldn't speak much at all, Toriel guessed she was barely a year old.

It just pushed her motherly instinct further. She was a baby, yes, a defenseless creature that couldn't walk around or utter a single word. Pity, that wouldn't make her less of a target - if anything, it was the other way around. She knew that any monster with a strong desire to finally break free wouldn't think twice before taking the baby to King Asgore, or even kill her themselves right then and there, even if they had to harm their past Queen to do so; risks didn't matter. Toriel shuddered just by thinking about the tragedies that could've happened to such a poor youngster with nobody to take care of her.

If only she knew…

All the goat monster cared about was the kid's safety and well-being. She was glad that the baby already wore warm clothes; Toriel was sure she didn't have anything so small, but she would still need more clothing for her after some time. Being right next to Snowdin, the place was usually cold when there was no fire, and the lavender shirt and little blue pants the baby wore wouldn't be enough. Toriel did have several sewing threads, though. She could try to sew up some warmer clothes, perhaps a small wool jacket. She had been a long time without sewing anything, for she had lost interest in the activity, but she now had the greatest of reasons to bring the habit back. That idea wouldn't leave her mind once it made its way in, anyways – she would start right then. The young one couldn't wear the same clothing always, and some far away day, it would be too small for her.

She wondered if she should keep the baby in her comfy basket until she found something else, or at least was done with something warmer. Something that could serve as a safe cradle was far more important, though. The little one could be sneaky enough to climb out and wander around in utter curiosity, likely hurting herself in the process.

Her smile faded.

A painful memory struck her mind like a dart headed towards a dartboard, but the monster couldn't get the image out of her head, and she could see it as clearly as if it had been yesterday when it all happened. When he was merely a playful ball of white fur, Asriel used to climb out of his cradle whenever he pleased and avoid his parents for quite a long time. He had had them worried enough, and each second with him crawling around like a sly spider had been a torture, but it had always been so fun for all of them in the end... He always did it purposefully; he climbed out trying not to make any noise, looked for the snow-white couple, waited for them to turn around, and then started running all over the house with an unceasing giggle, either playing tag or hide-and-seek inadvertently while the critters living around them watched, almost with envy, all the fun the family had. He still did it when... _they_ came, and the two's laughter was music to anybody's ears...

Toriel shook her head, it wasn't the time to be thinking about that, for it was a past that would never come back to life. Some things are best left forgotten.

Trying to quickly get into other matters, it came to her mind that there was only one thing more important for Toriel than the wardrobe to keep the baby warm. A name.

Her eyes went into thought for a moment while a shiny gaze looked around, though the little one could only see the ceiling and her new mother from that angle, so there wasn't much to explore. Toriel didn't know what she would call her, and her mind started drifting across a sea of memories. There were so many possible names, so many, but there was only one choice, and it could not be replaced. Not long after she went in search for anyone that had fallen down, she had been taking care of the flowers in her home as always, which happened to struck an idea; naming her after a flower was a nice thought, and seemed to be her last decision, but there were so many kinds and, thus, so many possible names. She wanted it to be special, just as special as the lucky youngling.

However, which one would be the appropriate name? Daisy? She didn't quite like it, seemed too goofy. Violet? It was pretty, could be a choice. What about Rose? She was fine with that one. Or perhaps Lily? It was such a beautiful name. When she came to think about it, all of them sounded good, gorgeous in their own way, but then, before she could choose one of those, she decided a better name that shone brighter than the rest, even though she was forced to remember something that she didn't want to think about. She had a necklace with a sapphire in it, it had been a gift from... _them_... a gift as thanks short after it all happened. She kept it behind the flowers in her bedroom, away from her sight. Just looking at the precious stone brought tears to her eyes, brought images to her mind that she didn't want to see again for her own good.

She still remembered that day, though. Short after Asgore became ill. It was... strange, to say the least. Sudden, unexplained. They went into her room, head down and light hair clouding their eyes, Toriel still didn't know if it was shyly or sadly. Their fist clenched, a small, dark brown cord peeking out of the pale hand. They did not utter a word, just rose their arm and opened their palm, revealing a beautiful, translucent stone attached to the cord, a precious necklace. They waited idly until she took it, smiled as the sapphire was taken by the cotton-white paw, and left even before Toriel could muster a thanks. She remembered how they never spoke again in her presence after that.

And even if it brought back such a hurtful, yet confusing memory that wrenched her SOUL with the strength of a mighty titan, she knew that was it.

Sapphire. It was perfect.

"It is done, then." She lightly moved the hair partially covering Sapphire's eye away; her hair wasn't too long, but it was certainly longer than most babies', even though she was unsure about how long human hair could be at that age. The past humans that had come there were mostly teenagers, a tad older or a tad younger than their fifteens except for at least two of them, and their hairs came in all sorts of shapes and lengths.

The baby giggled as she took a hold of the snow-white hand as if it were a close friend; the soft fur felt like cotton candy to the touch. "You shall be called Sapphire." The small head tilted, trying to find the sense of the words and put it together to get the meaning out. Her eyes almost seemed to sparkle like fireflies in the night before a meek smile adorned her pale face. A few babbles, at first with no sense whatsoever, escaped her tiny lips.

Scarlet eyes blinked in utter surprise when the apparently meaningless babbles seemed to try to find and chain to each other in order to create one particular word. Had she just tried to say her name? Toriel couldn't stop a gleeful smile from showing itself. Sapphire already knew what her name was. All she needed was to be able to say it, and Toriel knew that day was not too far away. "Yes, my child, that is your name."

The monster had many things to do, she wished she had realized that sooner; she wasn't prepared to take full care of a baby at such a young age, and she knew she was going to need the help of someone with a kind and patient SOUL. She knew who.

She thanked everything that could be thanked at the fact that there were still inhabitants in Home, albeit a few, but that was just about enough. She would need a ton of groceries for the next years, and baby toys, and baby food, and she would probably just buy everything she thought was necessary even if it was not. She almost felt younger when she saw herself walking through the half-abandoned city, as if it were a portal to the past when she and Asgore had to go out every five minutes to go get that new toy Asriel wanted to have so badly.

* * *

 _ **Three weeks later. . .**_

* * *

Toriel was glad Sapphire could make others happy, even if the young human didn't know that.

It took her a while to finally be able to contact with her possible helper, but she had found the gentle spirit she was looking for at last. Quite literally, as a matter of fact.

After both their cousins left to take care of their own matters, Napstablook started getting a liking to go to the ruins instead of staying at home and feeling like garbage all day long. They felt lonely in their house after being left alone with nothing but the snail farm beside them. It wasn't like the other two were there all the time, anyways, but Napstablook could hear Happstablook singing or just yelling what they called poetry almost every day from the adjacent house, and that was enough to let them feel accompanied. After the lively ghost departed, everything became silent and lugubrious, as if Happstablook had taken every single bit of life in the ghostly house with them.

Napstablook was one to like peace and calmness, they preferred to be alone and submerged in their own thoughts, but the emptiness the other two ghosts left there was not the type of peace the phantom wanted. Even as a ghost themself, Napstablook felt haunted just by being there, as if a million evil eyes were watching them in the shadows, waiting to scare the living daylights out of them. The ruins did hold the perfect kind of loneliness the ghost wanted, however. They could be on their own, with nothing creepy surrounding them, knowing that there were others around and that they weren't a million evil eyes, just friendly creatures that knew Napstablook wasn't one to start a random conversation with.

Not only that, but the ghost and Toriel had bonded over their similar likings before, and so they were always welcome there. Napstablook had visited the ruins many times out of sheer curiosity, especially alongside Happstablook -or, better said, _only_ with Happstablook due to their shyness-, and the two would always bring a few snails to the goat monster after her petitions. The purpose? There were no questions and no answers about it, so it was left aside. Up to that day, Napstablook still didn't know what Toriel wanted the snails for, and they believed they were too shy to ask.

Toriel had asked Napstablook to come around her home and do nothing else but make sure the baby wouldn't try to leave, and she had been surprised when the ghost, both timidly and sadly, accepted the request, but it hadn't been that easy to convince them. They kept murmuring that they were worthless, that Sapphire would get hurt and it would be their fault, that perhaps the human didn't like them, and so on. Still, Toriel's gentle nature had managed to get that shy little smile out of the ghost's traits and take out an acceptance.

She had left just a few minutes ago, and Napstablook already felt like they suddenly weighed tons. They didn't know what to do, for it was their first time taking care of something that wasn't a snail. They had come there and took 'care' of the baby several times already, but each new request still felt like the first and, thus, the worst.

As Toriel hadn't managed to find a cradle or something that worked as one yet, the basket was still Sapphire's little bed. She stayed in her mother's room, on the bed, and Napstablook believed they were intruding for a moment. It surprised them how silent everything was; they could only hear the fire crackling a silent melody in the living room, and that was it. Sapphire was fast asleep, eyes peacefully closed, chest lightly rising up and down. Her breathing was so calm and peaceful that not even the keenest of ears could hear her. Fortunately for the ghost, they always found her sleeping.

Napstablook just hovered gently from left to right as they awaited Toriel's arrival, not looking at the sleeping child and instead concentrating in the first thing that crossed their lugubrious mind. For them, it was certainly better that she was sleeping. Their mind would be so entangled if she was fully awake; what would they do? Were they supposed to get her to sleep? Be funny? "Speak to her? Do nothing? ...Leave? Napstablook didn't know, but the last option seemed to attract them towards it like a magnet. But that would be rude. Toriel wanted them to stay there until she came back, and that was what they were going to do.

Napstablook slowly floated next to the cradle, not too near in case they awakened the sleeping beauty. They had never seen a human before, and they thought they were weird no matter how many times the monochromatic eyes had looked down at the sleeping one. All the monsters they had seen came in all shapes, and colors, and sizes, except for ghosts like them of course. But humans... they just looked so simple. What made them so special? Happstablook always said that humans were very interesting creatures, that they created many amazing things and were really intelligent, but even if that was a baby they were looking at, Napstablook had a hard time believing such things. Happstablook was always an over-exaggerated ghost, anyway.

Suddenly, time seemed to go slower, and slower. Sapphire shifted around the blankets that covered her almost entirely, and Napstablook couldn't help but hover back a bit in shock. They were probably bothering her just by standing there and wondering what the deal with humans was. Tired eyes blinked slowly, and teal orbs seemed fixed in the ghostly body next to the basket. Napstablook felt guilt run all around their incorporeal body. They didn't know if it was their fault that Sapphire awakened, but having in mind that she had woken up short after they neared, fault struck them hard.

Senseless babbles came from the baby; her smile had widened after seeing the phantom, and her stubby arms reached out trying to touch the confused ghost, even if they were too far apart from each other. Was she asking for a hug? _"oh... you want me to... hug you..."_ Napstablook muttered, wondering if they were blushing out of shame. _"sorry... i don't think people can hug... or touch ghosts... oh..."_ But talking to Sapphire was barely any different than talking to a wall, she kept giggling and swinging her arms, uselessly trying to get attention.

Saved by the bell, Napstablook heard the door opening and closing, and they couldn't recall a moment where they had been so relieved.

Their body floated forward to go greet Toriel, but Napstablook seemed to bump against an invisible wall in mid-air that wanted them to stay with the baby. They still thought it was rude to just leave Sapphire there, especially when she wanted someone's attention. Their glowing eyes observed the giggling child almost with enchantment; they had to admit it, an attention-seeking baby was cute when looked at. A small, faint smile showed up on the ghost's traits, and that one was, for once, a genuine one.

"Napstablook, I am back." called a cheerful voice from the living room, slightly startling the ghost. "Did you have any problems?" Soft footsteps neared, and Napstablook was greeted with an always charming smile from the goat monster.

 _"no... not at all, miss Toriel, but... I think she wants your attention now... oh, I hope i'm not interrupting..."_

Sapphire sneezed before returning to her joyous laughter as Toriel stepped into the room. When they had first met, Napstablook had noticed she seemed... not depressed, or sad, but almost blank. They had seen how she tried to act as if she was fine, but it was clear that something was bothering her, keeping any bit of pure happiness inside her and unable to escape. After Sapphire's arrival, that happiness was finally released. Anybody could notice. Napstablook felt good for her. At least, she had a great company, unlike them.

"Oh, do not worry, you are not interrupting anything." Toriel said sweetly, gently picking up the jolly baby, who giggled in delight as if she had been waiting her entire life to receive her mother's love. Napstablook couldn't help but smile at the sight. They wished they had such a heartwarming company every day. "I really cannot thank you enough for taking care of her. You are doing me an enormous favor."

 _"oh, it's- it's nothing, miss Toriel... it's good to help... I think..."_

Sapphire was still reaching out to the phantom, however. He eyes glowed in utter happiness. Toriel had to give a soft chuckle. "Looks like she took a liking to you."

 _"really? she likes... my company?"_ the ghost murmured, not believing her words at all. They had done nothing to be likeable, and ghost and human had literally just met; Sapphire was always sleeping, and the only time she really actually saw Napstablook those days was when she merely opened her eyes only to then close them again and go back to her dreamland realm. Was their presence really that pleasing for the young one? It had been a quick look at each other and Sapphire was already beaming. _"oh... but I can't even hug her... i think that's what she wants..."_

"There is no need for that, Napstablook." Toriel said calmly, slowly cradling the baby in her arms as she seemed to stop trying to reach the unreachable and untouchable ghost. "I think letting her see you is good enough. Sapphire does not know ghosts are incorporeal, yet."

For a moment, Napstablook noted a chill run down their ghostly body as they ran out of words to keep the conversation alive. Sapphire seemed to be tired, and she gave a long, silent yawn before she drifted into a cheerful dream in the monster's arms. _"she looks tired... maybe I should go back home... I don't want to wake her again..."_

"You can stay if you want," Toriel told them half-heartedly; she already had the feeling that the ghost would find a depressing excuse to leave, but she didn't see the point in giving up so early. Perhaps they would stay, perhaps they would not. "You are not a bother, and always welcome here."

 _"no, really... i'd just weigh you down."_ Napstablook refused, turning around to return home and stare at the old wooden ceiling all day long until they were too tired to even keep laying around feeling like garbage. " _i should just leave..."_

"Well, if that is what you want, I will not stop you. Please, feel free to come back whenever you like."

 _"um... sorry to ask but... will you need me again? I... if you need my help again, I guess I can... return later."_

"Understand that you should not feel forced to. I try not to go out more times than I need, and I will only seek help from you if you can, and want to."

 _"okay... I'll probably be around here..."_

A shy smile adorned the ghost's face as they floated away, followed by Toriel's patient, red gaze. Napstablook was certainly relieved that Sapphire was asleep as they left, she probably would have started laughing again, preventing them from leaving; they would feel bad just leaving her there, vainly hoping for a hug.

The baby was set down on the basket again, and Toriel took Sapphire, peacefully sleeping and gripping the blankets as if they were the most valuable thing in the world, to the living room with her. She sat near the small fire, an eager smile on her face as she looked at the red bundle in her lap. She was halfway done with Sapphire's jacket; a bright red jacket made out of wool and pure love. Each time she started working on it, Toriel felt like she was going to drown in the utter happiness that overflowed her.

She could barely wait until it was finished.

* * *

The next day was as bright as the sun far out of the monsters' reach. It was certainly early in the morning, but Sapphire had showed no care about that. Toriel was still sleeping like the baby had been several hours ago when the recognizable giggles had filled the house with a warm feeling of hope and life, something that the house was in real need for. As Sapphire slept in her room, she was pretty much Toriel's alarm clock.

She had been forced to wake up, for she couldn't leave the baby's chants for her mother unanswered. Every morning was the same, and the caretaker of the ruins knew she would never get tired of the new routine.

Few times had she been out of the cradle, but Sapphire currently played happily with colorful construction blocks Toriel had bought earlier; she merely piled them up and looked at them as if they had formed the biggest, most perfect building in the world. Toriel held something in her hands as she came out of her bedroom, and she looked at the red bundle as proudly and happily as her human infant looked at her pile of cubes.

"Sapphire," Toriel said calmly, almost in a singsong way. The little girl looked up with a smile that could make the angriest, most murderous of monsters go _aww_. "I have a gift for you." A curious, teal gaze fixed itself on the red pile of wool held by the furry hands, and Sapphire could already feel the excitement every child felt when receiving something they knew was soon going to be theirs. Toriel knelt before the awaiting baby, who was staring at her with eyes wide as dining plates, aching to know what the gift was. She didn't know what the warm garment now around her was, but she seemed to, not like it, but love it. The jacket had the perfect size and it appeared to be comfortable enough. Something made out of genuine, motherly love could only be good.

The goat monster watched the cheerful reaction with a gaze purer than a precious diamond. Tiny fingers caressed the long sleeves that almost covered her hands playfully and inquisitively. It was so soft, and cuddly, and just perfect; Sapphire laughed her joy and approval, having, apparently, completely forgotten about her so perfect rainbow tower over a much better thing.

That face was sheer happiness and kindness. Toriel would never forgive herself if something happened to Sapphire.

She had lost six humans, and she still carried the heavy fault. She had greeted and treated them all like her own children, no matter what they looked like, or what they did. What did she get in exchange? Some kept begging her to let them go. Others escaped. One of them got lost. And all of them died. Toriel still blamed herself for all that, but the difficulty of the task caused her heart to ache.

Even if they ended up leaving, most of the humans that fell down appreciated her effort. They seemed happy in her company, but when it was time for them to go, the goodbye was too hard. Deep down, she knew the ruins wasn't a good place to live. The humans came from a world where things were much better. They had large houses and all sorts of ways to entertain oneself. It wasn't a good feeling to suddenly be trapped in a small, old house forever.

But that was certainly better than death. The humans never understood that. It only reached their mind when it was too late.

* * *

"Please, do not do that."

It was a common scenario in Toriel's eyes. She lost count of how many times she had seen a few mischievous inhabitants of the ruins play around with the exit door, opening and closing it -with great effort, given how heavy it was-, trying to push one another out into the mushy snow, challenging each other to go out... Something could happen one day. Something bad. The monsters in the ruins were gentle, the others outside weren't _so_ gentle.

Sapphire was awake in her arms, eyeing the Migosp, Vegetoid and Loox whose sneaky expressions changed to innocent ones at the sight of the motherly figure in front of them. "You know it is dangerous to open this door. Outside, nothing is as peaceful as it is in here."

"Sorry, miss Toriel..." all three monsters said in unison, sounding like a trio that had their apologetic song well prepared for the occasion. The temptation to be around an unknown world was too strong for them to resist. One moment they were playing around, the next they were at the door. Toriel understood that feeling. That, and the fact that her heart was nothing but sweet gentleness, was the only reason the monsters never got harshly scolded.

She carefully let Sapphire on the floor, where she immediately crawled towards the three monsters with her giggle, already well known in the ruins. The door was left half-open; a cold breeze greeted Toriel as she approached to close it, but not before taking a look outside. She had never really looked at what was outside when she came to close the door, she realized. But what she saw didn't lift her expectations. A path. A long path that would send chills down anybody's spine as they walked through it, knowing there were things lurking around. Tall trees with bare branches that creaked in the wind. And a complete silence, overall. Going through there had to be _chilling_. Never better said.

She glanced back at the monsters, all three looking at Sapphire as she held tiny bits of intruding snow that probably got in due to a stronger, albeit short breeze, or was thrown in by the curious creatures. She observed the white stuff as if it were an alien object. It was cold and it felt weird to the touch. It was interesting, but she didn't know if she liked it. Toriel gave a gentle chuckle before getting the monsters' attention. "Now please, go back upstairs. You will catch a cold here."

That hallway was cold enough already, but with the door open, it was almost freezing. The Vegetoid and Migosp instantly went back down the hallway, muttering things to each other about what could _really_ be out there, sharing each other's opinions, while the Loox stayed to ask what all three of them, and probably every monster in the ruins, wanted to ask. Sapphire glanced at the door and the monsters erratically, as an intrigued smile appeared on her traits. She let the snow down. "Miss, sorry to bother you, but..." That one big eye looked down. Before closing the door, Toriel focused her red gaze on the one-eyed monster. "We really want to know what's out there. Even if it's not true... my friends really want to know a bit more."

"Well..." Toriel drifted into thought. That monster that talked to her through the door had told her something about out there, but not much, as that topic was always one to quickly come and go. "I know that there is a town, Snowdin, but it is far away from here, as this forest is really big. Most monsters that live there are not friendly, though. That is why it is better for you to stay here. We would not want to bother anyone, would we?"

"I guess we wouldn't. They'd just pick on me!" The Loox laughed a little. "But that town thing sounds cool... I wish we could go out some day. Thank you miss!"

The Loox ran back with his friends, their figures already far down the hall, and Toriel closed the door. It creaked and squeaked as it fought against how broken and worn-out it was. The goat monster sighed, faced back to where she had left Sapphire-

 _Only to find out that she was no longer there._

A gasp escaped her lips as her eyes darted around. She was nowhere, as if she had vanished out of thin air. She couldn't have gotten out. Toriel was standing beside the door all that time, she would have noticed. Perhaps. Perhaps she just followed the monsters while she was answering the Loox's inquiries. That must have been it. Toriel tried to calm herself down, but she still felt something heavy trying to bring her down.

A small figure went out of sight at the entryway that led to corridor. She hadn't seen it properly, but she knew.

That weight went away. Sapphire did give her a huge scare. Could Toriel really blame her for playing hide and seek at such moment? Of course she could not. A smile made her fear go away as she approached the brick entryway. She still trembled a little, she felt it as she walked through the small patch of light in the middle of the dimly lit room. If she lost another human, she would-

She would have been terrified if she had seen how much her pupils had contracted as she looked around the corner. But she wouldn't have been as terrified as she was when she realized that it wasn't Sapphire playing an innocent game, but a Froggit looking for some place secluded and calm to take a nap. The frog-like monster looked at her with bulging eyes, tilted its head in sign of not understanding Toriel's obvious terror.

She looked at the purple path in front of her with silent gasps. Was it stretching itself to be longer? Her eyes deceived her. Everything deceived her. She knew. It was impossible for Sapphire to have followed the monsters. She could still see the Loox at the very end of the hall. The baby human had to crawl, she would still be laughing and giggling in the middle of the corridor.

No way. There was no way. She couldn't have gotten outside.

But where else could she have gone?

...

* * *

All she knew was that it was all _cold_ all of a sudden. Sapphire fidgeted around the snow at the sides of the chilly path. It wasn't as cold as the air surrounding her. She recognized that white stuff, it was the one that was inside her home before. It didn't feel that weird to the touch anymore. Sapphire took a handful of it. She held some with one hand and patted it with the other; almost all the snow she held fell down and teal eyes observed it rain off her tiny palm.

She sneezed. Her epxression wasn't as happy. She looked around, but there was nobody. She was alone. She didn't know where her mother was, she didn't know how she got there, she suddenly didn't know anything at all. Everything around her seemed bad the more she thought about it. Sapphire didn't want to be around the strange white stuff any longer. She wanted to be with her mother, in her home, around the warm fire and around Napstablook and around all the nice monsters that lived there.

Tears clouded her eyes. A bunch of saddening hiccups came from her before she broke into tears of despair.

And from afar, snow crunched under red boots, and an annoyed voice rang all over the forest powerfully; a voice strong enough to get past the door from the very end of the lugubrious path.

"WHY IS HE ALWAYS GONE WHEN I NEED HIM! SLACKING OFF EVERY DAY, I CAN'T TAKE IT!"

Papyrus had been searching for his brother for quite a while. He wasn't at home, all of his sentry stations were empty and silent - not a surprise -, and the only place left where he could have gone was that one door he always visited. Papyrus was glancing down at the path as he muttered clearly audible words for himself, before the cries finally engulfed his voice and brought him to a curious stop.

He first looked around him before finally facing forward. A small figure stood there, sitting on the snow, crying silently. Papyrus tilted his head. "HELLO? WHY ARE YOU CRYING?" Getting no response other than the constant weeping, the skeleton decided to investigate a bit further. The few times he had gone there, no monster had been around, mostly because it was rare to find anyone there aside from Sans.

Sapphire could barely see Papyrus' figure; her tears formed a blur and all she could see was white everywhere, and a tall, moving blob. Her crying seemed to tire down for a moment and became slight gasps, then back to hiccups.

Papyrus didn't recognize the baby as a human, but as a weird-looking monster who really didn't look from Snowdin instead. Papyrus and his brother knew everyone in the town. But that weeping creature hadn't been seen by any cold eyes.

After a few blinks, the tears attacking her sight finally seemed to disappear and Sapphire could see more clearly what was standing in front of her; a very tall skeleton wearing a red coat – seemingly way too warm-looking for someone with no skin whatsoever –, orange shorts in contrast with the snug garment, and red boots. He sported a frown in his face.

Papyrus still didn't recognize Sapphire as a human – but he did see a lonely baby in the middle of a freezing forest.

"WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS?" the skeleton asked, fully expecting a reply from her, but the baby only stretched her arms out. Papyrus looked around him: the last the he wanted to do was to steal a baby. "ARE YOU ALONE? THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE! SOMEONE SO SMALL MUST BE TAKEN CARE OF!"

Once he was a hundred-percent sure there were no mommies and daddies to take the little girl to shelter, the skeleton took the awaiting baby. "WORRY NOT, YOUNG MONSTER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL TAKE CARE OF YOU!"

He had gone to look for his brother, he came back with a baby. That sure would be a story to tell.


End file.
